Chelsea have had secret talks with Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho over a summer transfer move, MySportDab reports.
The Brazilian looks certain to leave the Nou Camp, having played this season on loan at Bayern Munich.
Coutinho’s future at Barcelona remains uncertain.
The Brazilian is still on loan at Munich, but doesn’t appear the German club are ready to sign him.
The Bundesliga giants would have to pay £120m in the summer to make his deal permanent, but they don’t want to pay that much.
This has now opened the door for Premier League clubs such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea.
Leicester City even emerged as a surprise club interested in Coutinho, but that deal appears very unlikely.
Now, Chelsea are ahead of other clubs in the race to sign Coutinho.
The Blues have already paid £38million for Ajax Winger Hakim Ziyech but are still ready to spend more this summer.
Coach Frank Lampard has demanded for attacking reinforcements to replace club legend Eden Hazard, after his transfer to Real Madrid last summer.
And According to Spanish Newspaper SPORT, Chelsea have held talks with Coutinho’s representatives about a transfer.
Barcelona have dropped their asking price of Coutinho this summer to €60m (£53m), in order to complete a sale.
Chelsea lead the race and are in negotiations with his agent Kia Joorabchian. pic.twitter.com/4GVhnQMaki
Chelsea have a good relationship with Coutinho’s agent, Kia Joorabchian and are confident he will agree terms.
MySportDab understands the Brazilian is desperate to return to the Premier League, as he regrets his Liverpool exit in 2018.
However, Liverpool are not interested in bringing him back, meaning his next club could Chelsea.
Barcelona are very determined to sell the playmmaker which would raise funds for Neymar and Lautaro Martinez transfers.
